Improvement in direct-acting engines and pumps



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. OARR'& J. ARTHUR. Direct Acting Engine and Pump.

No. 208,291. Paten'ted Sept. 24,1878.

N. PETERS, PHOYO-LITHOGRAPHEB. WASHINGTON. D c,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.- A. GARRKB J. ARTHUR. Direct Acting Engine and Pump.

No. 208,291. Patented Sept. 24,1878.

NVPETERS, FNOTO-UTHUGHAFHER WASHINGTON. D117.

'urrnfo TATES A'IENT FFICE.

TM CARR, OF PATERSON, AND JAMES ARTHUR, OF JERSEY CITY, XSSIGNORS TOSAID CARR, AND SAID CARR ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM S. CARR, OE JERSEY CITY,NEYV JERSEY.

MPROVEMENT lN DIRECT-ACTING ENGINES AND PUMPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 208,291, datedSeptember :24, 1878; application filed January '2, 1878.

i To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ADAM CARR, of Paterson, in the State of New Jersey,and JAMES ARTHUR, of Jersey City, inthe State of New Jersey, haveinvented an Improvement in Direct-Acting Engines, of which the followinga specification:

Pumps are frequently run automatically, the speed of the pump dependingupon the demand for water. That is the case in many places where thereis a system of pipes for distributin g water, and the pump maintains thepressure without a reservoir. In pumps that have a crank and fly wheelthere are advantages, because the valves are moved with cer tainty tothe proper place, but there are great disadvantages. If the movement ofthe engine is very slow, the fly-wheel is liable to stop, and the enginedoes not turn its centers unless there are two or more engines andcranks; and if the engine is running and the delivery of the water issuddenly checked, the momentum of the flywheel is likely to cause injuryto the pump or the connections.

In crank engines and pumps the pressure is liable to vary in consequenceof the regular motion of the fiy-wheel and the varying speeds of thepiston consequent thereon.

In direct-acting pumps many of the beforenamed difficulties areobviated; but the varying speeds and the wear of the parts render italmost impossible to secure a certain and regular movement of the valve.When the valve is moved by steam the wear of the parts and of thepassages interferes with uniformity of action, and the sudden admissionof steam through a full opening is often objectionable.

The direct -action pumps are remarkably well adapted to the varyingconditionsunder which they are run, because they will go fast or slow orstop, according to the supply or demand.

Our invention is intended to obviate the difliculties hereinbeforementioned, and to secure in a direct-acting pump all the advantages of acrank movement for the valve. The speed of the pump is dependent uponthe demand for thewater, and the pressure will be uniform, or nearly so,with a given pressure of steam. The valve movement is positive, andeffected by mechanical means. Injury to the steam-cylinder by priming isprevented, and the mechanical movement for the valve is adapted to anyengine-valve, whether used with a pump or otherwise.

In the drawing, Figure l is a side view of the valve movement with thevalve-chest in section, and Fig. 2 is an elevation of the valvemovingdevices at right angles to Fig. 1.

The steam-cylinder a, piston I), piston rod c, valve (1, ports 1 2 3,valve-chest e, and valve- I rod f are of any desired character. I haveshown the engine as connected to a pump, g.

The valve-rod f is connected bya link, h, to the crank, cam, oreccentric i, and by the mechanical movement next described a continuousrotation is given to the shaft 7.: and eccentric, crank, or cam i by thereciprocating movement of the cross-head 1 that is upon the piston-rodc.

There is a lever-arm, n, swinging upon the shaft 4., and receiving itsmovement from a link to the cross-head l, or preferably by a pin on thecross-head that passes through the slotin v the said arm 'n. Upon thisarm n, or between the bifurcations thereof, as shown, are two weightedor spring pawls, 0 1', seen more clearly in the detached view, Fig. 3.These pawls stand in opposite directions.

Upon the shaft 4 are two loose gear-wheels, a o, the wheel u gearing toa pinion, t, upon the shaft L, which carries the eccentric, having halfthe number of teeth, and the wheel 1; gearin g to an intermediatepinion, 20, which, in turn, gears with said pinion t. At the sides ofand attached to the gear-wheels a o, respectively, are disks or hubs 6and 7, each of which has two notches for the respective. pawls 0 r.

It will be evident that as the engine moves in the direction of thearrow 8 the pawlr engages with the disk 7, turning that and thegearwheel 1*, intermediate pinion w, and pinion t in the direction ofthe arrows U 10 11, the gearwheel a at the same time being free torevolve, and revolving in the direction of the arrow 12 by the action ofthe teeth of the pinion t, the pawl 0 slidin over the edge of thenotches in the disk 6. This gives th eeccentric or crank shaft k ahalf-rotation, the pawl that is in action having engaged with its tooth.When the engine commences to move the other way the pawl engages thedisk 6, and turns the same and the wheel a in the same direction asbefore, giving the shaft and eccentric a halfrevolution, the pawl 1'being inactive and drawing over its disk 7. By this means the shaft isand eccentric, cam, or crank are given a rotary movement in onedirection continuously, and make one revolution each complete stroke,and the valve, deriving its motion therefrom, is also properly moved. ethus interpose between the valve-eccentric and the piston-rod astep-by-step motion, acting progressively to turn the eccentric andreceiving its movement from the piston-rod.

It will be evident that, if the wheel a were three times the size of thepinion t and three notches were made in each disk for the pawls, theparts would work as before described, or similarly if the gears weredifferently proportioned.

In order to prevent the valve stopping at the point where both ports areclosed, we make use of a double cam, 16, upon the shaft k, and upon thiscam the toe-piece 17 rests, and is pressed by a spring or weight, 00,toward the shaft k. The weight is raised by one of the cams as the shaft70 is revolved, and just as the inlet of steam is about to be closed oneof the cam-points passes from beneath the toe, and the weight or spring,forcing it down the incline, completes the half-motion of the shaft,

closing one port and opening the other, and the further movement of theshaft is by the engine insures the full completion of the movement ofthe valve, and also the return movement of the valve by the furtherrevolution of the eccentric, as before.

The action of the double cam 15 16 will be more easily understood byreference to Fig. 4, where the weight 00 is shown as just ready to drop.

The end of the toe-piece 17 is preferably slotted to receive a roller,18, somewhat thicker than the narrow part of the double cam 15 16. Thelifting of the weight w is therefore performed in a very easy gradualmanner by the curves of the cam acting on this roller.

By referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen, at 26,

'that the highest points of the double cam (where it attains itsgreatest diameter) have, for a short distance, projecting flanges 26,producing a breadth equal to the toe-piece 17. These flanges (at 26)come in contact with the corners of the toe-piece 17 for a very shortdistance before the weight drops, as shown at 19, thus insuringaecuracyin the drop at theproper part of the revolution of theeccentric.

During the descent of the weight a" the roller 18 becomes the driver tomove the cam and its eccentric sufliciently to carry the valve over thecenter of its movement and give it lead enough to easily reverse themovement of the piston. The amount of this lead may be varied even whilethe engine is running. By

screwing up or down the weightx on the stem of 17 the distance throughwhich the roller acts on the incline may be varied as said weight isarrested in its downward movement by the frame through which the stem 17slides. According to the lead of the eccentric, the eccentric and itsshaft will require to be revolved in one direction or the other, in themanner well known to engineers.

By transposing the pawls and changing the direction of the notches orteeth in the disks 6 and 7 the shaft it maybe revolved in the oppositedirection; or, more simply, the motion of the valve with reference tothe steam-piston will be reversed by turning the eccentric, cam, orcrank i half a revolution forward on the shaft.

In some instances two direct-acting pumps are employed, and positionedso that one is acting full while the other is stopping and startingagain, so as to make the discharge of the water uniform.

In this instance one pump may run at a slightly different speed from theother, on account of variations in the friction. In that case themovements of the two pumps would correspond periodically. To preventthis we arrange to detain the weight as so that it may not fall untilthe adjoining engine arrives at the proper point in the relativemovements of the two engines to insure the proper relative rotation ofthe two.

Fig. 5 is an elevation, and Fig. 6 is a sectional plan, of thearrangement for effecting the aforesaid object, and Fig. 7 is a sideview of the parts.

The double cams w and 3 are made, as heretofore described with theinclines 15 and 16, and each double cam is moved by the leverarm andpawls, in the mannerbefore described, and each weight m, with its toe 17running down the incline 20, changes the valve by turning the shaft isand eccentric. \Ve arrange two spring-catches, and 31, that slidehorizontally, and yield as the respective weights .r w are lifted. Thecatch 30 serves to hold up the weight w and the catch 31 to hold up theweight 00; hence the weights would cease to operate were it not fordevices which move back the latches.

The latch 30 has an arm and finger, 32, that are adjacent to the cam 20,and the latch 31 has an arm and finger, 33, that are adjacent to the cami and upon these cams w and y there are projections 34 35. The weight wis raised by the inclines of the double cam but it cannot fall until theprojection 34 on the double cam 10 acts upon the finger 32 and slidinglatch. So, also, the weight w is raised by the double cam 10, and thelatch 31 holds it up until the projection 35 upon the double cam yunlatches the catch 31 and liberates such weight. By this means it isimpossible for either engine to run faster than the other, and theirproper relative movements are insured.

It is preferable to make each double cam 20 or y with the projections36, (see side view, Fig. 7,) so as to'lift the weight sufficiently highto allow the catch to enter the notch in the stem of the weight andsupport the same.

If the engine which moves fastest unlatches the weight of the otherengine before the incline 20 of the slowest engine arrives beneath theroller 19, the weight can drop sufficiently to prevent its being latchedagain, and held up after the projection 34 of the other engine haspassed its finger. This allows each engine to operate independentlyofthe other, prevents the fastest-moving engine from leaving the weight ofthe slowest-moving engine sustained and out of action, and insures thepause of the fastest-moving engine at the end of the stroke until theslower engine comes to its proper relative position and unlatches theweight of the other engine.

WVe claim as our invention- 1. The combination, with the valve and itseccentric in an engine, of the gear-wheels m2, pinion t, intermediate20, pawls o and 1', standing in opposite directions and swinging arm n,receiving motion from the pistonrod, substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with the valve-eccentric and its gearing,substantially as sh own, moved by a connection to the piston-rod, thecams 15 16, and weight as, acting in the manner and for the purposes setforth.

3. In combination with the direct-acting engine and the eccentric andvalve thereof, the double-acting pawls receiving motion from thepiston-rod, and acting in opposite directions upon the gearing thatintervenes between the pawls and eccentric, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the valve and the eccentric and rod for movingthe same, of a lever and pawl receiving motion from the piston-rod andactuating the eccentric, substantially as set forth.

5. The arrangement of the double cams 'w y, weights w m, latches 30 31,and projections 34 35, for insuring the proper relative movementsbetween two direct-acting pumping-engines, substantially as set forth.

Signed by us this 20th day of November, A. D. 1877.

ADAM CARR. J AS. ARTHUR.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINQKNEY, CHAS. H. SMITH.

This is to certify that the annexed Letters Patent No. 208,291, grantedSeptember 24, 1878, for Improvement in Direct-Acting Engines and Pump,have been corrected for the purpose of remedying a clerical error byerasing from the parenthetical clause next following the clausespecifying the subject-matter of the grant in said Letters Patent, andfrom the caption of the printed specification, the legal residencestated, viz: Jersey City, of the assignee, W. S. Carr, and in lieuthereof at each of said places inserting Paterson, N. I, to conform tothe Office [recoich] November 9, 1878.

